Yes They Are - No They Aren't

Why generalizations about "public servants," i.e. "politicians" limited the effectiveness of democracy

We all make broad sweeping generalizations about the world.  It’s usually part of a friendly exchange with friends, a form of “how are you,” “I am fine.”

One such statement, however has become dangerous.  “They’re all politicians.”  “They’re all corrupt.”  Such talk, failing to see real differences between elite political activities, blinds us to some very important distinctions. 

There is garden variety transactional politics (my back, your back and scratch), useful in achieving voting majorities in an easily gridlocked fragmented system like the U.S. There are also concerned citizens putting their money where their mouth is. who contribute to candidates that think like they do, and there are also very destructive levels of foreign and domestic “hands on the scales” corrupt policy influence. 

The extraordinary Saudi and Emirates presence in the Trump inner circle, during his 2016 campaign and afterwards should stand out, over and above the “noise” of other influencers.  Don’t duck into your partisan cave and claim that this was just another “equivalency.”  Or, the point of this blog, stop thinking in terms of “equivalencies.”

The truth of the matter is this: general processes of government operate within the guardrails of law, norms and acceptable behavior.  And it’s a battered guardrail. Law making, as some have said, is akin to working in a sausage factory.  And rightly you enjoy your hot dogs without deep inquiry as to how they were made. 

The people who fill government roles and positions (politicians or statesmen, take your choice) are generally worthy of our support.  They are doing a job and often a good job, and in most cases a necessary job. 

When we dismiss them all as “politicians,” we fail in our responsibility as gate keepers (voters, i.e. protectors of the guardrails) to filter out true abusers of power.